Bringing Network And Security Teams Together
SolarWinds ThwackCamp tackles the age-old grudge match between security and networking staff.
July 16, 2015
Security operations and network operations teams have always had a hard time seeing eye to eye. All too often, each side runs at cross purposes with the other. Networking pros view security specialists as obstructionists who make work difficult while security pros see networking teams as carelessly asking for too many permissions and opening up too much of the network to attack in the quest for expedience.
In a lively session hosted within this week's SolarWinds Thwack Camp conference, a security veteran and network operations veteran went toe-to-toe to air the grievances of each side, offer reasons why the two sides should cooperate better, and provide some tips on how to bridge the gulf.
On one side, security teams struggle to deal with skyrocketing attack volumes, ever-growing application portfolios, and increasingly complex network topologies. All of this work is done without commensurate growth in security staff -- and requires touching assets that security doesn't "own."
"Our challenge on the information security side is we are just lacking in staff and we need your help," said Charisse Castagnoli, information security and strategy officer for the office of the CSO at Websense and a longtime security professional. "The network is the portal, things go in and things go out when [incidents] happen, whether it is malware or accidental disclosures. When you're on an incident, you're discovering things and you're putting together the pieces of the puzzle, and a lot of times you guys are the ones who have the data."